German cities29 May 2016: Germany is a country made up of thousands of towns and cities, all with directly elected mayors. A city (Großstadt) is officially defined as an administration unit with a population greater than 100,000. As of 2013, there are 76 cities in Germany. Only four cities, Berlin, Hamburg, München (Munich) and Köln (Cologne), are Millionenstädte - cities with a population of more than one million. Nine cities have a population of more than 500,000 people. The mayors’ terms of office vary between five and nine years, depending on the state. Each municipal council is headed by an elected mayor, known as Bürgermeister - or Oberbürgermeister (lord mayor)in most larger cities.

According to the latest statistics (World Urbanization Prospects, 2011 Revision), 74 per cent of Germans (some 63 million people) live in urban areas, ie. in its approximately 6,000 towns and cities. Germany’s 300 largest cities and towns alone house half of the populace. Despite high numbers of one million people immigrating to Germany every year, the size of Germany’s urban population is generally stagnating given its already high rate of urbanisation and a generally decreasing population. There are exceptions to the rule, however, as Berlin and Munich for example are attracting a larger share of newcomers and so are projected to grow by tens of thousands every year until 2030. Other growing cities include Dresden and Leipzig in the eastern half of Germany as well as university cities of all sizes in the West.

Formerly City Manager in Konigswinter and previously worked in
other local government administration posts including in Bonn. Qualified in law in 1995.
Born to a German mother and an Indian migrant father in 1965
Party: CDU

Born 1956. Lawyer. Survived assassination attempt on eve of polling day.
The assault was prompted by her pro-migration policies.
Deputy Mayor of Koln/Cologne 2010-2015 responsible for integration, social affairs and environment. Deputy Mayor in City of Gelsenkirchen 2000  2010. First female mayor of Koln/Cologne. Accused of victim blaming after the assaults in the city at New Year 2016 when she suggested women should adopt a code of conduct including a clothing element.
Party: Independent

Elected mayor after being proposed by the Independent
Citizens for Dresden and subsequently supported by CDU after first round.
He was a Deputy Mayor and Acting Mayor of Dresden between 2008  2015.
Qualified in engineering and worked in aviation sector in 1990’s. Subsequently
worked as Assistant Secretary Economic Affairs City of Dresden.
Party: FDP

Born 1963, son of former Baden-Württemberg state parliament vice-president, studied law and political science in Germany, Switzerland and US, worked from 1994-2013 for federal privatization agency Treuhandanstalt (Berlin) and energy giants Enron (London) and Ruhrgas (Essen);
Party: SPD

Born 1959, an economist and political scientist. First Jewish mayor of a major German city since WWII. One of the founders of the group Jewish Social Democrats within the Social Democratic Party; 1989-2012 served as City Councilor and party deputy Chairman focused on children, youths, the unemployed and elderly care issues;
Party: SPD

Born 1958, teacher, later school principal, involved in 2012 Leipzig Olympic Games bid and 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany, board member of EUROCITIES and German Association of Towns and Cities;
Party: SPD

Born 1960, studied economics and public law, PhD, politically active since 1967, member of numerous supervisory boards in publicly owned companies, award juries and charities, since 2013 President of the Association of German Cities;
Party: SPD

Born 1955, German studies and philosophy, lecturer for linguistics, 2000-2002 Chairman of the Federal Green party, 2002-2013 member of the German federal parliament, 2005-2009 Chairman of the Federal parliament faction;
Party: The Greens

Born 1966
After working in environmental technology and materials research he became managed a section of Wuppertal Stadwerke from 2000-2011. From 2011-2015 he was managing director of Wuppertal Quarter Development GmBh. Member of Wuppertal City Council 1994-2011.
Party: SPD

Local government in Germany
Additional contributions by Urs Enke, Gregor Gosciniak, Irmelind Kirchner and Jens TessmannGermany is a federal parliamentary democracy, made up of 16 federal states (Länder). The Länder are North Rhine-Westphalia, Bavaria, Saxony, Baden-Württemberg, Hesse, Schleswig-Holstein, Sachsen-Anhalt, Lower Saxony, Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Rheinland Pfalz, Saarland, and Thuringia, and the city-states Hamburg, Berlin and Bremen. Each Land elects a regional parliament, or Landtag, for a five year term which in turn appoints the state administration (Landsregierung) headed by a minister-president (Ministerpräsident). The Länder are mainly responsible for culture, education, environment and policing, with a number of shared responsibilities with the federal government over legal and penal issues.

In all but one of the 16 Länder, the council system exists whereby each local government, in the form of the municipal council, is generally elected for a five year term, though this can vary between four and six years. Each council is headed by an elected mayor, known as the Bürgermeister - or Oberbürgermeister in larger cities - who acts as head of both the council and the administration. The mandate can vary from four to nine years. In Hesse however, the magistrat system is used, whereby the mayor presides over magistrates appointed by the council to act as the administration. Common responsibilities of this tier include planning, water management, social welfare and the building and maintenance of schools. Some councils also engage in cultural, economic development and energy-related activities, depending on the Land.

Today there are around 14,000 municipalities across Germany. Above the local tier and beneath the Länder, a tier of 300 units of local administration known as Kreise (districts) also exists. These are overseen by a district council, with a mandate varying between one and four years, again depending on the Land. Aside from the legislative function of its council, the administration (Landratsamt) is headed by a district president (Landrat), who is either appointed by the council or directly elected for a five to eight year term. This tier engages in the construction and maintenance of roads, some aspects of social welfare and waste management, though some are also able to engage in tourism promotion, libraries and higher education. Cities represent the lowest level within the three administrative levels (federal, state, municipal) in Germany. The Federation and the Länder put certain tasks to the municipalities  they are also supposed to allocate the corresponding funding with it which, in reality, is not always the case. Within the framework of self-administration, the cities organise and administrate their own voluntary activities which they also have to pay for with their own budgets.

All public services are generally managed locally, like (waste) water management, waste disposal, energy supply and such. The municipality is free to handle activities in these fields on their own or decide to outsource them to private businesses, which has become a common practice during recent years. Other voluntary activities are overseen by the municipality as well. In addition, most activities commissioned by the Land are carried out by the responsible municipal administrations as the lowest official body in the federal system. These include the organisation of elections, the registration for the military and so on.